Technical Dropped Axles and front ends in general

Speaking of axles, I was wondering if anyone knows the condition of the roadster driver who crashed on I-5 in Sept of this year ? His I-beam axle was chromed and appeared to snap at the perch hole. Anybody ?

 

Wow! Three great fenderless Coupes in one great tech thread! CTAV8, that looks like a stock Model A torque tube, so I'm thinking the engine and 'box are positioned where the torque tube puts them? I was going the easy banger route with my Coupe, but having just picked up a nice aluminium-headed 21-stud V8 am quickly changing my mind. I want to use as much of the original A running gear - axles,brakes, etc., - as possible and yours looks a great template for me. Your 8BA/half-bellhousing/early trans should be the same length as my early engine and trans, so the A wishbone ball location should be in the same place, below the clutch shaft?

 

I'm glad to see this thread back up!

 

Well let me poke the bear here, they are basically unobtainium but I would think that a V-8 60 axle would be a good candidate for an A V-8. Of course it is not going to set you in the weeds unless you get creative but it would still be a viable option.

 

I don't know everything about anything but I do know that it's
tough to jam a V8 in the 4 banger space without some cutting, fitting
front and trans mounts, getting fan clearanceand getting the
trans/ torque tube to bolt together at the right length.
CTAV8 has the lock on the instalation
and the rod brake thing too for sure.
I kinda like the 40's teenager cars!
Remember it's all been done before, thousands of times.
In CTAV8's case he got it all perfect!

 

My car has a dropped model A axle, I have no idea how much its dropped but its a good amount. It is also running a spring over rear which I saw you mention spring orientation earlier. I guess its pretty low for a spring over style rear. Its got home made unsplit front wishbones made from model A ends and a BB wishbone. It also has the trans crossmember made from the BB trans crossmember as I didn't want to see any "new" metal under the car if anyone checked. The tires are 600-16/750-16.

 

i just want to say something about how tough the stock ford straight axle is. My dad farmed in the 50's, not a lot of money laying around. So when he needed a new wagon running gear, he used a 1944 Ford car chassis. he used the frame rails, and front and rear axles. one day my little brother(no longer with us,sadley) was pulling the wagon loaded with corn over a long hill in the corn field It came unhooked, and rolled all the way to the bottom of the hill bouncing wildly over the corn rows. never hurt a thing!. you can't beat that Ford iron!

 

yep Tony, an old hot rod or a younger women makes us feel 28 again, easier to get the old hot rod!

 

Thanks, Rem. It is a stock Model A rear end, wishbone, and torque tube and as you say, everything is set from back to front. We used a Tardell K member and '32 rear mount and set location by bolting it all up to the stock tt. Agree the location should be about the same but with earlier V8 the oil filler may be a problem. We are very tight to the firewall as you can imagine and had to rotate the 8BA fuel pump to clear. So you have to look at it. Some guys put a bend in the filler tube. Also torquing p/s rear head bolts is interesting. All Model A running gear except you can see in the second set of pics the '35 front brakes. A simple bolt on only requiring the spacer used for juice brake conversion to Model A spindles. Setting the engine back eliminates fan clearance issues and gives you a lot more options. We did have to do some minor trimming to the bottom of the firewall....not a big deal. Also used a set of '32 pedals and although I know these are getting hard to find, it maintains the Early Ford look. Radiator is original Model A as well with new inlets and additional right side outlet. D/S outlet is in exactly the right location.

Tony M.: Thanks again for the kind words.

 

Leroux, I'd LOVE to see more pics of your car.

 

Ditto,
I want a banger next!
But I just saved a 56 Golden Hawk!
What was I thinking?
Gasser!

 

I'll second that, Leroux.

 

Thanks for your reply, CTAV8, I was aware of the potential oil filler tube clashing with the firewall but hadn't considered the cylinder head clearance - may have to sacrifice a bit of it for the cause! Great tip on the radiator too.

 

Beautiful A


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So I'm building a fendered 28 Tudor. I need some help on front and rear suspension, I have some nice 37 split bones I know I want to use but that is about it I want to bring the front down about 5-6". And the rear needs to be open drive and come down bout 4-5" and help is appreciated.

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Exactlt how I have gone about setting up my driveline, except I am using a f1 crosmember and 33-34 stretched bone. Glad to see a finished car set up this way. Had to pick through countless threads and old magazines to arrive at this order of install to get stuff where it needed to be. BTW your sons car is on point!

 

I just wanted to chime in on the av8 talk. It is possible to run a 59ab in there and get the passenger side head off. You end up needing to use a single belt pulley on the front and use a generator mounted fan. I believe those are 32-38ish. With the engine as far forward as possible, it leaves just enough room to get the belt off and on, and get the head off. As far as the oil tube, IF you can find a Lincoln oil tube, they are angled and fit without mods.

Of course all this means the engine is slightly to far forward to use a stock A rearend....

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